An Introduction to PerformanceLink

Frequently Asked Questions

The top metric used to measure our success is the number of contract renewals we receive from our customers. We don’t work for one contract; we seek a long partnership with our clients based on results, trust, integrity, and success. Success is also measured within each client based on how each client chooses to define success at the launch of the programs. KPIs and CPIs (culture performance indicators), along with other key metrics such as turnover rates, retention rates, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction, are reviewed regularly to determine the impact of recognition within the culture.

One portfolio metric that we routinely track to assist our clients with program evaluation is participation rate (both sending and receiving recognition), trending over time, broken out by job title, team, business unit, office, district, and region. If metrics provided to us include periodic financial performance at the business unit and district levels, we can calculate the impact of recognition on net income generated per employee and a real ROI.

PerformanceLink assists analytics teams by adding the strategic review of recognition data to understand its impact on employee and business performance. In every program, we collect recognition and organizational outcome data such as engagement scores, turnover rates, and specific KPI measures. To validate and expand upon our findings, PerformanceLink partners with the Department of Management at Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business where award-winning faculty study and analyze this data so that you know how recognition is impacting employee behavior and therefore, driving outcomes.

One of the Top 40 research universities in the United States, Virginia Tech conducted over $500 Million in funded research in 2015. Dr. Kevin Carlson, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs confirms Virginia Tech’s prominence in the area of workforce analytics research.

“As technology makes data-driven HR decision making a reality, our executive advisers tell us that people analytics is a key priority for their organizations. Virginia Tech is committed to being thought leaders in the use of data to drive organizational performance. Whether you are talking about engineering, medicine, or business, people data are becoming more critical to attracting, deploying, developing and retaining talent in organizations. Recognition has been an important component of organization efforts to guide motivate and engage their employees to deliver the high quality service and innovation to customers. Our partnership with PerformanceLink is a critical component of our research on effective use of recognition in organizations. We have found no other company that is able to provide the same level of detailed data and strategic insight about managers’ use of recognition as PerformanceLink.”

It starts from the very beginning of our relationship with you. First, we assure that the programs that are launched in your recognition portfolio are yours, not ours. The likelihood of program success rises dramatically if details such as award criteria, eligibility requirements, information flow, and the award/reward tied to the program(s) are generated with collaboration from within, rather than dictated from above or from the outside. Transparency, authenticity, and legitimacy are cornerstones of recognition success and foundations of our consulting methodology.

Secondly, our four-phase process, by its very design, ensures that recognition is specifically aligned to drive actions and behavior necessary to produce positive outcomes; that program design, process, and practices will resonate with your employees and embrace recognition best practices; and that there is a method and schedule for periodic program review.

Senior staff is credentialed by Recognition Professionals International (RPI), the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) and the KAI Centre: Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI). KAI measures a person’s preferred problem-solving style and can be used to predict how they interact within teams. Best practices from these organizations are included in the development and evaluation of all of our recognition programs.

Our parent company, A Brand Company, has US headquarters in Charlotte, NC with 13 sales/distribution locations across the United States, and 10 sales/distribution locations across Canada with a headquarters in Toronto, ON. Based on program requirements, we will leverage this geographic coverage to best serve our clients. Enterprise-wide front and back end processes, procedures, and technologies are in place that allow us to support both simple and complex client needs.